DHS is seeking to develop and/or provide Services for Older Minnesotans to Live in Community – Live Well at Home Grants.

Minnesota Department of Human Services Aging
and Adult Services Division
Request for Proposals for Grantees to Develop
and/or Provide Services for Older Minnesotans to
Live in Community - Live Well at Home Grants.
Date of Publication: February 9, 2026
Minnesota's Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:
It is State of Minnesota policy to ensure equity, diversity and inclusion
in making competitive grant awards. See Executive Order 19.01.
The Policy on Rating Criteria for Competitive Grant Review establishes the expectation that
grant programs intentionally identify how the grant serves diverse populations, especially
populations experiencing inequities and/or disparities. See OGM Policy 08-02.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Statement:
This information is available in accessible formats for people with disabilities by
calling 651-431-4945 or by using your preferred relay service. For other
information on disability rights and protections, contact DHS's Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) office at 651-431-4945
.
Grant RFP Template (GK201) Rev. 3.31.2025

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 2
1.1 Objective of RFP .................................................................................................................................. 2
1.2 Proposal due date ............................................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Background ......................................................................................................................................... 2
1.4 Funding Availability ............................................................................................................................. 3
2. Scope of Work ................................................................................................................. 4
2.1 Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 4
2.2 Tasks and Deliverables ...................................................................................................................... 10
2.3 Collaboration ..................................................................................................................................... 11
3. Proposal Requirements .................................................................................................. 11
3.1 Proposal Contents ............................................................................................................................. 11
3.2 Detail of Proposal Components ........................................................................................................ 12
3.3 Required Statements and Forms ...................................................................................................... 22
4. RFP Process ................................................................................................................... 23
4.1 Responders' Conference ................................................................................................................... 23
4.2 Responders' Questions ..................................................................................................................... 23
4.3 Proposal Submission ......................................................................................................................... 24
5. Proposal Evaluation and Selection .................................................................................. 24
5.1 Overview of Evaluation Methodology .............................................................................................. 24
5.2 Evaluation Team ................................................................................................................................ 25
5.3 Evaluation Phases ............................................................................................................................. 25
5.4 Contract Negotiations and Unsuccessful Responder Notice ............................................................ 26
6. Required Contract Terms and Conditions ....................................................................... 26
7. State's Authority ............................................................................................................ 27
8. Appendix A: Sample State Grant Contract ...................................................................... 29
9. Appendix B: Sample U of M Grant Contract .................................................................... 50
10. Appendix C: Sample County Grant Contract ................................................................... 67
11. Appendix D: Sample Tribal Grant Contract ..................................................................... 83
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Objective of RFP
The Minnesota Department of Human Services, through its Aging and Adult Services Division (STATE), is
seeking Proposals from qualified Responders to develop and/or provide services for older Minnesotans
to live and age in the community of their choice. The STATE aims to improve their community's capacity
to develop, strengthen, integrate, and maintain culturally competent home and community-based
services (HCBS) for individuals aged 65 and older who are at-risk of long-term nursing facility use and/or
spending down into Medical Assistance eligibility. Proposals may include services that support solo
agers, family, friends, and neighbors' caregiving. The term of any resulting contract is anticipated to be
for six to twenty-four months (6 to 24 months), from July 1, 2026 until June 30, 2028. STATE may extend
the contract up to a total of five (5) years.
The Live Well at HomeSM program aims "to help older adults live well at home by focusing strategic
investments to prepare Minnesotans for 2030." The grants in this RFP are intended to stimulate
innovation by providing one-time, start-up funds to test new approaches in housing and HCBS
development, and to develop and support core HCBS providers. Additional details can be found in the
Minnesota Statutes, section 256.9754 LIVE WELL AT HOME GRANTS
1.2 Proposal due date
Proposals must be submitted by 4:00 p.m. Central Time on April 17, 2026. This Request for Proposal
(RFP) does not obligate the STATE to award a contract or complete the project, and the STATE reserves
the right to cancel the solicitation if it is considered to be in its best interest. All costs incurred in
responding to this RFP will be borne by Responder.
1.3 Background
In 2000, Minnesota's legislature formed a Long-Term Care Task Force to address pressing issues in long-
term care. The 2001 legislative reforms that followed aimed to reduce nursing home reliance and
expand home and community-based service options.
The Live Well at Home Grants (Minnesota Statutes, section 256.9754) funds innovative age-friendly
approaches providing a catalyst to reshape the STATE's long-term service and support system.
What are Long-Term Services and Supports?
Long-term Services and Supports (LTSS) encompass the broad range of paid and unpaid medical and
personal care assistance that many people need for weeks, months, or even years when they experience
difficulty completing self-care tasks as a result of aging, chronic illness, or disability.
LTSS assistance includes activities of daily living (eating, bathing, dressing) and instrumental activities of
daily living (meal preparation, medication management, housekeeping).
LTSS include, but are not limited to:
* personal care services
* assistance provided to a family caregiver
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* nursing facility care
* transportation
* adult day programs
* home delivered meals
* chore
* homemaker
* respite care
* assistive technology
Grants are accessible to various agencies, including non-profit, for-profits, governmental units, and
Tribal Nations. The program aims to improve community-based, affordable long-term services and
supports for older Minnesotans and support infrastructure that allows older adults to remain at home.
Eligible applicants include those working to assist caregivers, integrate healthcare services locally, and
develop inclusive, sustainable options for public assistance recipients.
Grants are also available to fund capital and renovation projects to expand the STATE's long-term
services and supports capacity into community-based settings. These projects include new construction,
renovation, or remodeling existing buildings to provide innovative and affordable housing and services,
giving older adults more age-friendly options.
These grants complement federal, state, local, and private funding sources for long-term services
including Older Americans Act funds, Medical Assistance, foundation grants, and private pay resources.
Grant priorities are informed by the Gaps Analysis found at Gaps analysis / Minnesota Department of
Human Services (mn.gov).
Live Well at Home resources for potential grantees include:
Long-term services and supports / Minnesota Department of Human Services
LTSS demographics dashboard
Aging Data Profiles
MN NCI-AD 2023-2024 State Report
Age-Friendly Minnesota
1.4 Funding Availability
Eight million dollars ($8,000,000) will be available to successful Responders during State Fiscal Year (SFY)
2027. SFY 2027 is July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The individual annual maximum grant award is
three hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000) per year per proposal.
Funding will be allocated through a competitive process with review by a committee with
representatives from the Minnesota public and Department of Human Services staff and, if applicable,
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community specialists with regional knowledge. If selected, Responders may only incur eligible
expenditures when the contract is fully executed and the grant has reached its effective date.
2. SCOPE OF WORK
2.1 Overview
This RFP provides background information and describes the services desired by STATE. It describes the
requirements for this procurement and specifies the contractual conditions required by the STATE.
Although this RFP establishes the basis for Responder Proposals, the detailed obligations and additional
measures of performance will be defined in the final negotiated contract.
The three general categories of services and/or projects desired by the STATE include:
A. Category 1- Capital and Renovation Grants
Capital and Renovation grants [three hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($350,000) or less per year]
pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 256.9754. Note: if you are applying for funding within this
category, you will be required to complete the Live Well At Home Cost Development worksheets found
in the online Foundant application.
Capital and Renovation Requests include:
* new construction
* renovation
* retrofitting
* home modification
* transportation
* technology
Capital and Renovation grants are available for new builds, renovations, retrofitting, or modifications to
enhance accessibility in homes or buildings. These efforts should foster innovative housing and services
solutions, create affordable units suitable for home care, and cater to those age 65 and over with
chronic health conditions. Retrofitting aims to lower healthcare costs by adapting homes for aging in a
supportive environment, especially those lacking essential features. Responders promoting equity, self-
sufficiency, independence, quality of life, safety and community integration are encouraged to
demonstrate how their project uphold these values through home modifications, new construction,
technology, or services.
For new construction and renovations, requirements include lockable single-occupancy living units that
have at a minimum private lavatories and showers (3/4 baths), a food preparation area suitable for a
mini- refrigerator and microwave, and that has a total of at least three hundred and fifty (350) square
feet. Accessible common and living areas are preferred. Both physical accessibility and communication
accessibility (using hearing loops, for example) are important in common and living areas. Priority will be
given to development of projects in communities in which there are no housing with services within a
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fifteen (15) mile radius of the proposed project site and a community need is clearly demonstrated. The
requirements listed above are preferred for renovation and nursing facility conversion projects. These
projects should result in apartment-based housing or settings that are licensed as board and lodge
facilities. Units intended for use in memory care programs must be built so that potentially hazardous
plumbing and electrical elements may be disabled.
Renovation, retrofitting, and home modification efforts focus on enhancing accessibility through
universal design, with information and expertise available from Certified Aging-in-Place Specialists
(CAPS). These professionals are trained to design homes that ensure safety, usability, and comfort for
older adults, with a directory of Minnesota CAPS available on the National Association of Home Builders
web page. Projects must comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, particularly
vehicle projects, and are encouraged to coordinate with Regional Transportation Coordinating Councils
(RTCCs) for efficient resource sharing, improving mobility for -older adults. Innovation in technology and
design, including adherence to the Minnesota Assisted Living licensure law Ch. 144G, shall be integrated
into capital and renovation requests. Potential projects span various living facilities and private homes,
focusing on inclusivity and meeting broad community needs, with priority given to proposals offering
low-income solutions for homeless older adults. The STATE seeks innovative housing and service
models, potentially involving co-ownership and private payment schemes, with funding available to pilot
and document successful approaches.
B. Category 2 - Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Development Grants
Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Development grants (three hundred fifty thousand dollars
($350,000) or less per year) pursuant to Minnesota Statues, section 256.9754.
LTSS Development requests include, but are not limited to, community supports such as:
* chore
* homemaker
* supporting family, friends, and neighbors in caregiving
* respite
* transportation
* chronic disease management
The STATE works in collaboration with partners to fund the development of a comprehensive and
coordinated system of long-term services and supports (LTSS). Partners include, but are not limited to,
counties, area agencies on aging, nursing facilities, health plans, health care systems, physicians and
clinics, older adults, universities/colleges, public and private housing owners, employers, Tribal Nations,
local social service providers, faith-based organizations, grass-root organizations, and other for- profit
and non-profit organizations. All partners are encouraged to strengthen their community relationships
with diverse populations whose racial, ethnic, cultural, language, social status, sexual orientation,
gender identity, or residential status or other factors indicate that specialized services will aid the
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population(s) in reaching their full health potential as defined by the Minnesota Department of Health's
Health Equity Reports and Publications web page.
The STATE is dedicated to supporting older adults and their caregivers in avoiding nursing home
placements and the financial burden on Medical Assistance, aiming to maintain independent living
within the community. This commitment involves managing health and long-term care spending,
enhancing service integration, and expanding community-based options to ensure sustainable long-term
support. Live Well at Home grants play an important role by funding innovative strategies for
prevention, risk management, and support, benefiting those at risk of nursing home admission or
Medical Assistance eligibility, including private pay individuals leveraging their resources for needed
services.
Characteristics of at-risk older adults may include but are not limited to:
* Needing assistance with one or more activities of daily living
* Experiencing an injurious fall in the past six (6) months
* Thinking about moving to a nursing facility or assisted living facility
The STATE acknowledges the need for diverse long-term service models to manage health risks, support
independent living and offer alternatives to nursing home stays, with a focus on closing access gaps for
underserved communities through collaboration with Tribal Nations, counties, managed care, area
agencies on aging (AAAs) and informal service providers.
LTSS Development requests may be made for grants that will address one or more of the following
objectives:
* Expand, integrate, and maintain essential community support services that enable older adults
to remain in their own homes and communities;
* Integrate medical services, home, and community-based services, and promote self-manage of
chronic disease and other risk factors, including support for family and informal caregivers
(example, friends and/or neighbors);
* Support individual choice, control, and private pay purchasing; support at-risk families and
informal caregivers (example, friends and/or neighbors);
* Facilitate collaboration between long-term service and support providers, health care providers,
other state agencies, other funders, policy makers, community organizations, local businesses
including employers and consumers; and
* Leverage diverse technologies to enhance community living by streamlining service delivery,
optimizing health management, bolstering caregiver support, ensuring quality, and empowering
consumer choice, all aimed at dismantling barriers to home and community-based services.
The STATE is interested in funding projects that provide LTSS in the following priority areas:
B.1 Caregiving:
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* Projects that assure the health and safety of older adults by providing caregiver supportive
services which empower the caregiver to care longer and delay long-term facility placement of
the older adult;
* Projects whose services assist with identifying at-risk caregivers, especially those close to
burnout or long-term facility placement of the older adult;
* Projects whose services are defined as "wrap around" supportive services such as
transportation, homemaking, chore, home delivery, and home repair. These wrap around
services allow the caregiver more time to provide additional caregiving support;
* Projects that provide information, education, and training for caregivers, through a variety of
formats, to build capacity to provide, manage, and cope with caring for an older adult in the
designated community;
* Projects that demonstrate the need in the proposed service area particularly where nursing
facility closures have occurred or are occurring or areas with service needs identified by
Minnesota Statutes, section 144A.351. Preference must be given to projects that support
underserved populations;
* Projects that establish a local coordinated network of volunteer and paid respite workers
working to fill respite gaps including access to in-home, out-of-home, facility-based and
emergency respite services;
* Projects whose services offer temporary, substitute care, supervision, support, or living
arrangements, including in-home, out-of-home non-facility and facility-based care to older
persons in order to provide a brief period of relief or rest for informal caregivers (example,
friends and/or neighbors); and
* Projects that facilitate coordination between respite care providers and caregivers of older
adults to ensure equitable access to a full spectrum of services.
B.2 Community Supports:
* Projects that develop, expand, and sustain service(s) that are critical to maintaining community
living for older adults and their family, friends, and neighbors that are caregiving. Such services
include respite (group, emergency, evening, weekend), chore, homemaker, transportation,
personal emergency response, assistive technology, home delivery, adult day, community living
assistance, caregiving support, and education. In order for different home and community-
based services (HCBS) to be considered, local evidence of the need for the service(s) must be
provided. These cost-effective services, when provided to an individual who is beginning to
experience a need for HCBS services and supports, can stabilize an individual and prevent or
delay their spenddown to Medical Assistance or a move to an assisted living or nursing facility.
* These services are needed by older adults regardless of income level. Proposed service models
must determine the true unit cost to deliver the service(s) and incorporate a sliding fee scale in
order to ensure access for all individuals to the services. Equally important is maximizing the use
of volunteers, unlicensed service professionals, and other community resources to maximize the
availability of services in a proposed geographic area.
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Of particular interest are:
* Proposals from cultural and ethnic community organizations;
* Models that propose to serve culturally and racially diverse older adult populations and/or
American Indian/Alaskan Native Elders; and
* Models that serve older adults in rural areas.
Community Supports Responder's projects must clearly describe:
* How their project will achieve their purpose;
* The Responder's process for recruiting, training, and retaining all volunteers;
* The Responder's plan to promote the project in the designated community, including outreach
efforts to identify potential caregivers and linkages to regional and national resources; and
* New and innovative service delivery models that consolidate administrative capacity across
agencies to achieve greater efficiencies and connect high priority individuals with services
needed given the current economic climate and the rapidly increasing numbers of older adults.
Note: Include technical assistance costs in Responder's proposal that will help explore the use of
advances in technology to enhance Responder's services.
B.3 Healthy Aging:
* Projects that support high-risk older adults to better manage their chronic conditions, improve
their quality of life, lower health care costs, and maintain their independent living through
opportunities for education and training, medication management, care transitions or other
programs that utilize proven evidence-based or informed self-management techniques.
* These programs will increase access to evidence-based health promotion and disease
management interventions to prevent onset or manage chronic conditions and fall prevention.
Evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion programs reduce the need for costly
medical interventions. Programs offered should assist individuals who are at-risk for
hospitalization or placement in a long-term care facility or who are beginning to experience the
need for HCBS . Programs offered can provide opportunities to improve access to long-term care
decision support for individuals and their caregivers and connect them to flexible community
supports (see B.2), as well as resources to help them better manage their health status and
ongoing health conditions. For information on evidence- based health promotion/disease
prevention programs: https://www.ncoa.org/page/healthy-aging-programs/.
For a chart on evidence-based health promotion/disease prevention programs:
https://www.ncoa.org/resources/ebpchart/.
B.4 Homeless Support Services:
* Projects that develop new models of Homeless Support Services to provide assistance to older
adults who are experiencing homelessness to move into stable housing, receive the services and
supports they need, and access non-emergency health care services. The goal of these service
models is to help high risk older adults stabilize their living arrangements and health, therefore
avoiding emergency room admissions and increased risk for experiencing homelessness again.
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The objectives of this section are increasing awareness of the socio-economic trends influencing
older adults' homelessness and developing a better understanding of vulnerabilities among
older adults experiencing homelessness.
* Types of transitional assistance provided through these models may include:
Accessing and maintaining stable housing through:
o
Lease and rental deposits, including subsidized housing e.g., HUD Section 8,
Section 202/8;
Essential furniture;
Utility set up fees and deposits;
Personal supports to help locate and transition to the community-based
housing; basic household items;
Personal items;
Window coverings; and
One time pest and allergen treatment of living accommodations.
Applying for and receiving publicly funded long-term services and supports, mental and
o
chemical health services;
Applying for and receiving income subsidies, food support and other public benefits; and
o
Coordination of services and supports.
o
B.5 Transportation:
* Projects that develop and expand volunteer driver transportation services; and
* Projects that increase efficiency and coordination of current and future transportation services
that fill current service gaps, including serving rural communities; and creating and providing
innovative transportation options (example, loop bus service, autonomous shuttle bus).
C. Category 3 - Core Home and Community-Based Services
Core Home and Community-Based Services [forty thousand to sixty thousand dollars ($40,000-$60,000)
per year].
Core home and community-based services aim to strengthen and develop additional home and
community-based services and alternatives to nursing homes and other residential services throughout
Minnesota to allow older adults (regardless of income) to remain in their own homes for as long as
possible. Core home and community-based services complement community services by covering some
fixed costs for small non-profit providers offering community services and additional services such as,
but not limited to transportation, home modification, chore, and companionship.
Responders eligible for the core home and community-based services grants must be a core home and
community-based service providers as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 256.9754, subdivision 3.
Organizations funded under core home and community-based services typically have operating budgets
of one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($175,000) or less annually and serve a geographically
limited area. Priority will be given to the development of new core home and community-based service
providers in communities where there is a lack of affordable services. Priority will also be given to those
existing core home and community-based service providers expanding into adjacent unserved
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